Keyboard cleaning?! Does it have anything to do with digital photography?

Yes!

If you take digital photos you cannot avoid working on a computer. Without one of the most important input devices, the keyboard, the computer is mostly useless. So there is indeed a connection between digital photography and keyboard, with a stretch.

You eat, drink, or maybe drool over your keyboard and eventually the keyboard will become dirty. If you have been trying the typical dusting, wiping methods, you know it doesn’t get you too far. So what’s the best way to clean the keyboard?

Take it apart and wash it!

If you are scared by the imagined scene of the keys popping out all over the place, your fear is completely unfounded. If you do what I am going to show to your keyboard, you will most likely void the warranty on the keyboard if it still hasn’t expired. If that’s not a problem for you, read on.

Before you start

Find a time you don’t need the dirty keyboard of try to see if you can borrow one.

Follow the steps

Unplug the keyboard if it is a wired version. For wireless keyboard, remove the batteries.

Flip the keyboard over and remove all the screws you can see with a screw driver. Keep the screws at safe place. My Acer keyboard has total of 13 screws. Sometimes the screws may be hidden under labels or rubber pads.

Carefully separate the top and bottom parts of the keyboard. Go slow and look through the gap to see if there is any connections between the two parts. Most OEM wired keyboards do not have anything connecting the top and bottom parts. Some fancy wireless keyboards may have cable connections you need to carefully separate. If you have trouble with your memory, take photos as you disconnect them so you remember how to put them back.

At the end, you should have the top plastic part that has all the keys attached. No key should fly out. Check to make sure no electrical parts are left on it before bring it to a sink and give it a really good wash in warm water. Dish detergent in kitchen or hand washing liquid in restrooms works great.

After you are done, tap it gently to remove excess water then let it dry. You can speed up the drying process by blowing a fan on it.

For the bottom part that has the circuit board and the conducting rubber switches, you should not try to clean them in water. You can use your Giottos blower to remove dusts or crumbs that might have gotten there.

When the keys are completely dry, just following the reverse steps to put the pieces back together. You will have a sparkling like-new keyboard!

Disclaimer

Don’t blame me if you have a dead keyboard at the end. I have done this 3 -4 times and never had any issue but you may be the unlucky one.